Paper Smooches Sparks Designer Drafts Week

Good Morning,
I hope you had a lovely Christmas and have recovered from the mad rush beforehand!!
If you're feeling in need some crafting therapy in the midst of the festive season, we have a new sketch for you this week at Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge...

I decided to change up the bow for a vase of flowers using the Crystal Clear 3 dies, Pocket Dies and Flower dies..

The dotted line die makes a great accent to ground the vase and the sentiment is from Salutations.

We hope you can join us this week and don't forget to visit my teamies for more fab inspiration for this weeks sketch...

Alice

Erin

Jenny

Lisa

Savannah

All the usual challenge details can be found over at the Sparks blog :0)

Well that's all from me until 2015 so I want to wish you a Healthy and Happy New Year... see you next year !!
Jenny x

Christmas Project Wrap up!!

Well it's that time of year when we're all running around like crazy people, preparing for the big Ho Ho Ho!!! and I've been neglecting my blog more than usual lately for that very reason.

I thought I'd pop by today though to share the gifts I've made for James's classmates and staff this year.... it's his last year at school so probably the last time I'll do this :(
I shared the chocolate Brussel Sprouts gift bags a couple of weeks ago for the staff but I have also decorated candles for them this year using Lawn Fawn Stamps....

 I really enjoyed decorating candles last Christmas and luckily the staff are all different this year so I could make more... not to mention I bought a fair few candles from Ikea because they are such a nice size to decorate *wink*....I have a photo tutorial over on the Make the Day Special Stamp Store blog if you'd like to know how to do them.

James's class is smaller in size with only four others besides him this year so I made them a Chocolate Rice Krispie Pudding each .... plus an extra for quality control purposes *wink*

...... and with help from the Stampin Up Gift Box Punch Board I made some packaging for them...

The circular collar in the base was an attempt to keep them from rolling around the box..... I can only hope they got into school looking the same as they left home!!!

Well that's about it from me before Christmas, James finishes for the holiday break tomorrow and then Hannah arrives home on Saturday.... looking forward to being altogether again for Christmas :0)

I've not been the best blogger in recent years but whether you're a regular visitor or have just happened to stumble here for the first time, I want to wish you all A Very Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year :0)

Jenny x

Paper Smooches Sparks - Anything Goes

Hello there :0)

It's the first challenge of the month at Paper Smooches Sparks and we're kicking off as always with an Anything Goes challenge..... I'm still on Christmas cards although I have to say I'll be glad to put my Christmas stamps away soon :0)

Okay, so this card doesn't actually use many Christmas Stamps and I've had this idea before... pairing up that goofy Monster and the term 'handsome' that is!!! Now it's even easier because I don't have to spell it out... it's part of the Headliners Stamp set :0)

I couldn't resist using the Mistletoe and the Santa Hat..... why it could be a scene from any office party... Hehehe :0)
I don't usually give hubby a Christmas card but this year may be an exception... although he's not actually green with brown horns... honestly :0)

Here are the links to my fellow teamies, please stop by and see their fab projects as well :0)

Alice

Erin

Jenny

Lisa

Savannah

Hop over to the blog for all the challenge details and we look forward to you playing along too.

Jenny x

Celebrating Getting Old!!

Well how considerate are the ladies at CASology!!!
The cue word this week is OLD and it just coincides with my MIL's birthday this week..hehehe. Luckily she wont see this blog post but then again I'm sending her this card so I hope she see's the funny side....

Joking aside, I take my hat off to her because even at eighty something she jets off to the other-side of the world for three months every winter to visit family!! Not a lot keeps her stationary for long!!

Such a large number of candles is cause for a Celebration so I'm entering this in to Less is More this week... they are celebrating with their 200th challenge, now that would be a huge cake  :0)
Chrissie and her team do a stella job each week and even though I don't get round to joining in most of the time, I still check in with them each Saturday :0)
Congratulations Chrissie and here's to many more!!

                                                   

Jenny x
Stamps : Art Impressions - Girlfiends Giant Cake set.
Dies : Avery Elle - Finished Frames

Don't Forget the Sprouts!!

Pinch and a punch and all that...first day of December!!! Yep panic starting to set in but at least I have some ideas for teacher gifts this Christmas starting with these chocolate Brussel Sprouts I found in Marks & Spencers this year.....

 This is my DT project over at Make the Day Special Stamp Store today so all the product links can be found over there.
I was super excited when I found these foil wrapped chocolate balls, they are already very authentic looking in their green net bag so I just decided to give them a red Goody bag to sit in and a new tag..

The sprouts are a snug fit in the bag so they dome nicely through the aperture in the plate. I wanted to leave them in the netting and just added a new tag in place of the shop one :0)

M&S also have a bag of chocolate balls made to look like clementines in this style which have a hint of orange flavour in the chocolate!!!....... Well..... I'm pleased to report that, according to the label, these Sprouts are just chocolate!! Phew...not sure the world is ready for Sprout flavoured chocolate !!!!

Righty-ho.... two more to make and then onto the next project :0)

Thanks for stopping by :0)
Jenny x

Paper Smooches Sparks - Anything Goes Week

Hello there :0)

It's a 5th Sunday in November so that means an extra week of fun at Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge blog with an Anything Goes theme...

I've been playing with the new Cool Dudes stamp set and the large 'build a snowman' collection of stamps in the set to be precise!! I love his friendly face, especially when you dot his eyes with enamel accents to give them some real life twinkle :0)

He's peeking through the cute wonky scalloped frame from Just for you dies and the sentiment is from the Christmas Sampler stamp set.

I'm sure you'll want to play along so do check out the rest of the DT's projects...I think we're all playing along this week :0)

Alice Wertz

Erin Taylor

Jenny Mullens

Katie Gehring

Lynn Mangan

Lori Tecler
Larissa Heskett

Savannah O'Gwynn

Thanks for stopping by and look forward to seeing you in the Gallery :0)

Jenny x

Christmas Fun

Well Christmas card making is in full flow here in the Craftroom and both my cards today have already been ear-marked by the kiddos (who am I fooling, theyre both young adults!!) to send this Christmas :0)

I'm sharing these over at Make the Day Special Stamp Store Blog... have you popped over lately to see all the newest stock and Brands in store??

Hehe... I've been waiting to make this card since I had the lightbulb moment of pairing the sentiment from Lawn fawns Winter Sparrows with the twitter app from # Awesome.
IRL the blue is a better match to the actual app but the camera hasn't caught it well!! Just goes to show you can stick a Santa Hat on anything and make it Christmassy :0)

 This next one appealed to James's sense of humour so his teacher will most likely receive it :0)

The chimney is the top half of the fireplace from Lawn Fawns Cosy Christmas and Santas boots are the wellies from Paper Smooches Green Thumb. The PS Slang Gang set comes in useful for fun and quirky sentiments for cards... hehe... too many mince pies me thinks *wink*

More details for both cards can be found over at Make the Day Special Stamp Store blog along with a full product list.

Thanks for stopping by :0)
Jenny x

Welcome!!

Hello and as the title says...Welcome to a new challenge at Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge.
It's everyones favourite this week.. Anything Goes, let your creativity run wild with those stamps and dies!!

I had some new stash arrive this week so it was put to use straightaway for this 'Welcome to the Neighbourhood' card with a gardening theme.....

I have a mild obsession at the moment with colouring those adorable vegtables from Green Thumb. I had used this set for my Hubby's birthday card last week and it was still on my desk so I had to use it again... not to mention it's a perfect match for the woodgrain plate in the new Patterns 1 die set :0)
I took a tip from the very talented Pamela Ho, and inked the Woodgrain die with dark brown ink before running it through my bigshot with some Kraft card.... it looks just fab!!
I cut the new Welcome die three times and stacked them for extra dimension onto the woodgrain piece...then it was just a case of playing with the pieces to fit the square card!!

I had coloured one of the peapods in too and couldn't bare to leave it out so I popped it into the inside along with the rest of the sentiment :0)

As always here are the links to the rest of my teamies, make sure you visit them to check out their projects too :0)

Alice

Angeline

Erin

Jenny

Savannah

We look forward to seeing you in the gallery... all the details can be found at the PS Sparks blog here :0)

Jenny x

Paper Smooches Sparks - Picture Perfect Challenge

Good Morning....are you ready for a new challenge over at Paper smooches Sparks??? This week we have a photo inspiration challenge and we really hope you feel inspired to join us :0)

It appears these photo inspiration challenges are not proving to be as popular with you guys so I thought I'd share my thought process when deciding on my design :0)

The first thing I do is study the photo and then look away and write down the key things I remember about the photo starting with the most prominent, for me this was wooden, strips, home, yellow and aqua. This usually gets my mind thinking of different PS stamps and dies to use and then its just a case of getting them out and start playing with ideas on scrap paper. Remember it's not a case of combining all the things you've written down....any small part can give you the seed of inspiration!!!

Well wood seemed the key thing for me so I settled on the adorable wooden rocking horse in the Knick Knacks stamp set and decided to have a go at no-line colouring with Prisma Pencils...

I've used the inner part of the largest Scalloped Frame die to frame the image and then used the pencils to add an aged vignette around the edges. The sentiment is from Salutations, I chose to cut the stamp in half so it would fit the space better :0)

Please remember to visit my teamies and see how they were inspired by the photo

Alice

Angeline

Erin

Jenny

Savannah

We really hope you can play along with us this week for the chance to win a $30 gift certificate to the Paper Smooches store... all the details and Mr Linky can be found here, hope to see you in the gallery :0)

Jenny x

A Metallic Wreath

Now we're into November the challenge blogs are lending themselves nicely to help us get cracking on our Christmas cards.... or is it just me that leaves it until now!!!???

Chrissie and the ladies at Less is More are asking for Christmas cards but not using red or green in the design and Virginia's View Challenge this month is 'All Things Metallic'.... they seem to be a good pairing of challenge themes to me ....

I've made my own silver embossed wreath using a Paper Smooches stamp and adorned it with gems,wire and of course a neat little blue/purple bow. The irridescent nature of the mauve coloured gems meant capturing them in a photo was a complete nightmare so this angle below is still not great for colour, but at least you can see them :0)

These wreaths are quite easy to whip up in batches and other colour themes would look lovely too.... I think I'd go for a smaller card base next time though!! Love the sentiment... very girlie :0)

                                             

Thanks for stopping by :0)

Jenny x

Stamps used : Jolly Holly - Paper Smooches

A Christmas Colour Challenge

Hi there :0)

We're getting in the mood for Christmas over at Make the Day Special Stamp Store blog with a whole month of inspiration cards from the design team dedicated to the season, so it made sense to make this months challenge a Christmas one too!!

 It's simple... all you have to do is make a Christmas card using colours from one of these three palettes and link up to our challenge gallery here... all we ask is that you MUST use at least one product that we sell in the store :0)

         

I have to admit that the colours on the far right palette really appeal to me but I chose to go with the traditional reds and greens of the middle one instead...

I've used the Paper Smooches Holly Jolly stamped in Avery Elle pigment inks for my seasonal swag, to add some detail I used a few shades of Prisma Colour Pencils on top of the stamped images. I do love the effect of the ink on top of the Kraft coloured card... the colours are so true :0)

There's a £15 store voucher up for grabs so please come and join in, you have until the 24th November :0)

Hope to see you in the gallery and thanks for stopping by
Jenny x

Anniversay Text

Just popping by quickly this morning, it's half term break here and whereas most teenagers stay in bed on school holidays...not James!! He's up usual time but does everything in a leisurely manner and speed!!

My parents Wedding Anniversary is coming up so I grabbed this stamp set from Lil' Inkers.. I love the stick characters and simple short sentiments. I had a lightbulb moment when I paired it up with the fab sketch at CAS(e) this sketch this week... a text message style of card although I fear it may be a little too modern for my parents now.. Lol :0)

What a great sketch and I love the negative space of the speech bubbles raised above the actual bubbles!!

I wasn't sure if colouring the couple was a good idea but I love how Prismas show up on the dark card and I think the splash of colour works :0)

Right must go... a trip to the supermarket awaits!!
Thanks for stopping by :0)
Jenny x

Paper Smooches Sparks - Designer Drafts Challenge

Hello there, I'm here this morning with a card to share with you for the new Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge and this week we have a sketch for you :0)

I've followed this one quite loosely as that circle was calling out as a Christmas wreath to me and the sentiment just had to lay across it....

Both the leaves and sentiment are from the Christmas Words 2 die set.... that large holly leaf is the perfect scale for the greetings and ideal for a wreath on a square card :0)
I cut them all in white and coloured both the berries and leaves with Promarkers. I'm also loving using my re-discovered Gold Mirri card again.... perfect for Christmas cards :0)

Please be sure to visit my teamies and check out their take on the sketch too and then join us in the gallery...details are all here

Alice

Angeline

Erin

Jenny

Savannah

Thanks for stopping by :0)

Jenny x

If you live in the UK you can buy Paper Smooches at Make the Day Special Stamp Store, click here to see a large range of stamps and dies :0)

Christmas Crackers!!

Well it's about time I turned my attention to Christmas Cards seeing as it's hurtling towards us at an alarming rate!! I honestly have enough Christmas stash that I could make individual cards for everyone on my list for the next three years I think, but still the new stamps and dies tempt us to buy them *sigh*

I have made Christmas Crackers for my DT blog post today over at Make the Day Special Stamp Store and used a couple of dies from the Paper Smooches Stockings dies set to do it ....

I've used two of the stocking cuffs in the set along with those gorgeous dainty bows from Avery Elle's Finished Frames....they look sooo yummy in shiny gold card, which I have re-discovered amongst my stash!!

To keep such small pieces together I used a thin strip of card behind the cracker and this allowed me to adhere the bows in the gaps too...this is a fab way to use thos scraps of festive papers up, I'm all for that :0)

Well it wouldn't be a Christmas Cracker if you couldn't pull it and anyhow the confetti is highlighting the sentiment :0)

I'm entering this over at CAS(e) this Sketch, it's a two week challenge this time around so you still have some time to play :0)... and The Paper Players have a Clean and Simple challenge this week using Silver or Gold, that's the most gold I've ever put on a card so I'm counting that as okay *wink*

              

Right must dash...heaps to do, thanks for stopping by :0)

Jenny x

Cauldrons and Pumpkins!!

Hello :0)

Cauldrons and Pumpkins!!...... that must mean Halloween is approaching :0)
Not something we 'do' here at home apart from carving pumpkins, but I have been hoarding empty yoghurt pots for a few months now just because they were the perfect shape to make mini cauldrons.... I had a lightbulb moment as soon as I saw them in the shop... so I've been upcycling... Blue Peter style :0)

The yoghurts in question are the Activia Intensely Creamy type (other yogs are available but don't have these cute rounded pots!!) ...I just sponged on two coats of Black Gesso for a rough cast metal look and added a wire handle along with rolled paper feet.

As always, packaging manufacturers can't leave well alone and I have since found that the pots have changed shape slightly and have a flat rim .... :( They still would make great cauldrons but I experimented by removing the rim to make pumpkins too!! 

A couple of layers of orange tissue and some orange acrylic paint later they are ready for a spooky face :0)

They're filled with Halloween sweet treats and the toppers are made courtesy of Paper Smooches dies and stamps... I think the spooky sign looks brilliant stamped on the wood veneer  :0)

..... and those O's were begging to be turned into wide eyes!! :0)

These will be going to school with James for his classmates so I need to finish the rest pronto as Halloween falls in the Half Term break here....I'm sure they won't mind having them a week early  :0)

Thanks for stopping by :0)

Jenny x

Paper Smooches products used: Halloween Icon Dies, Ghoulfriends, Happy Campers, Bam Bubble dies.

Wood Veneer paper available at Make the Day Special Stamp store.

Mini Christmas Card Set and Box

Hi there :0)
I've been busy making a mini set of Christmas cards using Lawn Fawn stamps and dies for my DT posts over at Make the Day Special Stamp Store, which incidently is the best place to shop in the UK for your favourite US stamp companies.... lots of choice and a fast friendly service..... Thats what you call a shameless plug :0)

The weather here in the UK has turned decidedly wintery today so what better time to share them !!
They're all 4x4inches and lots of fun to make... James has already laid claim to them to give to his friends and his favourite is the Christ-Moose.
Lots of photos coming up...

 The box is made using a tutorial I found on You Tube which I reduced in size so it would be a snug fit for my cards. It can be made using a sheet of A4 card and I have a photographic tutorial over on my DT blog post here :0)

The two penguins on the ice are my favourite design so I had to repeat it for the box front and just change up the sentiment.

Right best go and warm up, all these images of snow and ice aren't helping my keep warm on such a gloomy wet day.... I'm trying not to give in and put the heating on yet so perhaps some vigourous housework will help instead!!!

Thanks for looking
Jenny x